pg&e waveconnect humboldt working group …e waveconnect humboldt working group permitting...
TRANSCRIPT
January 7, 2010
HWG
PG&E WaveConnect Humboldt Working Group
Permitting Authority Subcommittee Meeting
HWG
Humboldt Working Group (HWG) Groundrules
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• Participate in an active and focused manner – commit to process success.
• Interact with all other members respectfully.• Communicate interests, not positions. • Be brief in communications, and be prepared. • Help involve all.• Seek solutions for all.• Commit to a good faith effort.• Share relevant information.• Communicate effectively—open, frank communications with the
larger community, “not-for-attribution” to individuals in the group. • Attend all meetings; start on time.• Keep cell phones on silent.
HWG
Facilitator Responsibilities
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• Maintain a neutral position as project issues are discussed.
• Help the group accomplish its objectives.
• Help guide the discussion.
• Enforce participant ground rules.
• Help involve all.
• Ask “why” to clarify interests.
• Ensure a smooth process.
• Retain confidential information as confidential to individual participants.
• Manage time.
• Track actions, next steps, deadlines.
HWG
Agenda
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I. Introductions/Session Overview..…………….……….9:00 – 9:15 amII. Action Items review.……………………………………....9:15 – 9:30 amIII.Monitoring and Adaptive Management Approach……………………..
…………………………………………………………………..9:30 – 11:45 amIV. Lunch………………..………………………………...11:45 am – 12:30 pmV. Presentation on green sturgeon……………………………………………..
……………..…………..……….………………..………….…12:30 – 1:00 pmVI. Cont’d discussion of Monitoring Objectives and Approach…………
.…………………………………………………………..……....1:00 – 2:45 pmVI. Break……………………………………………………………..2:45 – 3:00 pmIX. HWG Permitting Authority Subcommittee Integrated Schedule…..
..………………....….……..…….………………………………3:00 – 3:50 pmIX. Next Steps, Adjourn…………………………………………3:50 – 4:00 pm
HWG
HWG 2010 Schedule
• HWG Meetingso January 6o February 1oMarch 9oApril 6oMay 4o June 1o July 13
• HWG Permitting Authority Subcommittee Meetingso January 7o February 2oMarch 10oApril 7oMay 5o June 2o July 14
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HWG
Monitoring & Adaptive Management for PG&E Humboldt WaveConnect
HWG
Humboldt WaveConnect Project
• Short-term duration
• Temporary effects
• Small footprint
• Impacts probably local and small-scale
• Opportunity to study effects with low risk
• Informs future WEC configurations, designs, &
mitigation measures
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HWG
Monitoring & Adaptive Management
• Address scientific uncertainty
• Screening criteria to trigger additional
mitigation if necessary
• Objective-driven effects evaluation
• Monitoring and reporting requirements
• Decisions by stakeholder consensus (i.e.,
FERC, USFWS, NOAA, CDFG, PG&E…)
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HWG
Monitoring & Adaptive Management
Define problem, management objectives
Revisemonitoring, mitigation, minimization measures
Designmonitoring and mitigation plans
Implement monitoring
Evaluate results
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HWG
Pinnipeds Likely to Occur in Project Area
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Common and coastal, haul out on rocks and/or beaches
• Harbor seal – present year-round, breeds here
• Steller sea lion (Federally Threatened) – present year-round, breeds at
Cape Mendocino
• California sea lion – fall and spring peaks, breeds in southern California
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HWG
Cetaceans Likely to Occur in Project Area
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Common in Project Area
• Gray whale – migrate past twice a year, some residents
• Humpback whale (Federally Endangered) – migratory, present
spring to fall
• Blue whale (Federally Endangered) – migratory, present summer to
fall, ephemeral
• Harbor porpoise – common year-round
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HWG
Cetaceans Likely to Occur in Project Area
Rare, occasional, ephemeral in Project Area, typically farther offshore
• Minke whale
• Transient killer whale
• Dall’s porpoise
• Risso’s dolphin
• Pacific white-sided dolphin
• Northern right whale dolphin
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HWG
Marine Mammals Unlikely in Project area, Could Occur in “Acoustic Area”
Off-shelf distribution, could detect WECs acoustically
• Pinnipeds
– Northern elephant seal
– Northern fur seal
• Cetaceans
– Fin whale
(Federally Endangered)
– Sperm whale (Federally Endangered)
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HWG
Potential Effects on Marine Mammals
• Noise
• Electric and magnetic
fields (EMF)
• Entanglement
• Collisions with vessels
• Attraction to WECs for foraging, haul-out
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HWG
Noise
• Objective: What are the noise levels associated
with the project?
• Monitoring & Adaptive Management
– Marine mammal surveys (acoustic, visual) to assess
exposure
– Characterize ambient noise
– Measure noise from WECs
– Compare with known sensitivity thresholds
– Model masking effects
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HWG
Entanglement
• Objectives: Does lost gear entangle with the WECs and
moorings? Do marine mammals become entangled?
• Monitoring & Adaptive Management
– Monitor and remove lost fishing gear from WECs
– Marine mammal surveys (acoustic, visual) to assess exposure
– If entanglement occurs, adjust frequency of lost gear removal
– Install “pingers” to repel marine mammals
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HWG
Collisions with vessels
• Objective: Are vessels colliding with marine mammals?
• Monitoring & Adaptive Management
– Marine mammals surveys (visual, acoustic) to assess
exposure
– Marine mammal observers
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HWG
Attraction to WECs for foraging, haul-out
• Potential indirect effects
– Increased exposure to other impacts (i.e., entanglement)
– Increased predation on listed fish (salmon, smelt)
• Monitoring & Adaptive Management
– Modify WECs to prevent pinniped haul-outs
– Marine mammal surveys (acoustic, visual)
– Install “pingers” to repel marine mammals
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HWG
T&E Fish and EFH
• Threatened & Endangered (T&E) Fish Species– Pacific salmon- 6 Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU) and 2
Distinct Population Segments (DPS)– North American green sturgeon southern DPS (Federally
Threatened)– Southern eulachon DPS (Federally Proposed Threatened)– Longfin smelt (State Threatened)
• Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)– Rockfish, roundfish, flatfish, elasmobranchs,
highly migratory species, coastal pelagics, Pacific salmon
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HWG
Potential Risks to T&E Fish and EFH
• Artificial reef, Fish Aggregating
Device (FAD) effects
• Biofouling
• Electric and
magnetic fields (EMF)
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HWG
Artificial reef, FAD effects
• Potential indirect effects
– Increased predation on listed fish species by marine
mammals and fish predators
• Monitoring & Adaptive Management
– Modify WECs to prevent pinniped haul-outs
– Fish, invertebrate abundance & distribution monitoring
– Gut content analysis of fish predators
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HWG
Biofouling
• Potential indirect effects
– Habitat modification, changing species composition
– Invasive species
• Monitoring & Adaptive Management
– Operations and maintenance includes remotely
operated vehicle monitoring, dive surveys
– Settlement plates if biofouling occurs
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HWG
Electric and Magnetic Fields
• Species potentially affected:
– Marine mammals
– Green sturgeon
– Salmonids
– Elasmobranchs
– Dungeness crab
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HWG
Electric and Magnetic Fields
• Potential effects
– Changes in behavior, navigation, orientation
– Interruption of migration for sturgeon, salmon
• Monitoring & Adaptive Management
– Shield / bury cables
– Measure baseline electric and magnetic fields (EMF), EMF from WEC
devices, compare to known sensitivity thresholds
– Monitor for presence of tagged, migrating fishes (e.g., sturgeon,
salmonids)
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HWG
Seabirds
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• Potential Effects
– Attraction to lighting & collision with
structures
– Use of structures as nesting or roosting sites
– Disturbance of foraging & resting
• Monitoring & Adaptive Management
– Observations of flight patterns & potential
collisions
– Surveys of use of above-water structures
– Monitoring of trends in use of foraging &
resting habitat within project area (build on
existing monitoring data)
HWG
Construction Zone Monitoring
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• Biological resources construction monitoringo Marine mammal monitoringo Terrestrial plants and wildlife monitoring
• Storm water discharge monitoring
• Horizontal Directional Drilling mud release monitoring
• Archaeological monitoring of excavation pit
HWG
Monitoring Plan Structure
• Define monitoring objectives (e.g., Do WEC devices, anchors, moorings act as artificial reefs or FADs?)
• Describe approach, methods, and rationale• Monitoring schedule and frequency (space, time,
seasonality)• Monitoring metrics and analysis• Constraints, limitations and feasibility• Adaptive management, including triggers and
outcomes if possible.
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HWG
Next Steps
• Ongoing discussion with HWG and Permitting Authority Subcommittee
• Draft monitoring plans• Distribute monitoring plans with draft pilot license
application (DPLA)• HWG and Permitting Authority Subcommittee to
review and collaboratively refine plans for final pilot license application (FPLA)
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HWG
Next Steps
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